Can a Kansas employer fire you because of a garnishment?

No employer may discharge an employee by reason of the fact that the employee's earnings have been subjected to wage garnishment (K.S.A. 60-2311). The federal version is narrower: it bars discharge because earnings were garnished for any one indebtedness, and a willful violation carries a fine, imprisonment of not more than one year, or both (15 U.S.C. § 1674). Neither statute says what happens if the wrong amount was withheld.

Does being too sick to work pause a Kansas garnishment?

K.S.A. 60-2310 provides relief in a specific situation: if the debtor is prevented from working at the debtor's regular trade, profession or calling for a period greater than two weeks because of the debtor's illness or that of a family member, and this is shown by the debtor's affidavit, the section is not invoked against that debtor until after two months from recovery. The duration requirement and the affidavit are both part of the rule.

Can a creditor that bought your account garnish your wages?

A seller or assignor of an account to another person or a collecting agency is not entitled to the benefits of wage garnishment, and neither are its assignees (K.S.A. 60-2310). The same statute lists exceptions, including support rights assigned to the secretary for children and families, support rights assigned to another state under title IV-D, assignments of accounts or taxes receivable to the director of accounts and reports, and certain court-debt collections. Whether a particular account falls inside the rule is a legal question.

What if one earlier case of yours was dismissed in the past year?

The stay can end early. Under 11 U.S.C. § 362, if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under chapter 7, 11 or 13, and a single or joint case of that debtor was pending within the preceding one-year period but was dismissed, other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b), the stay as to any action taken with respect to a debt, property securing that debt, or a lease terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing. A party in interest may move to continue it, after notice and a hearing completed before that 30-day period expires, by demonstrating that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.

What if two or more earlier cases were dismissed in the past year?

Then the stay may never arise. If two or more single or joint cases of the debtor were pending within the previous year but were dismissed, other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b), the stay does not go into effect when the later single or joint case is filed by or against that individual under the Bankruptcy Code, and the court confirms that on request (11 U.S.C. § 362). Within 30 days after the later filing, a party in interest may request a stay as to any or all creditors. The court may impose one after notice and a hearing, only on a demonstration of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed, effective when the order is entered.

Wages & debt

Wage Garnishment in Kansas: What the Law Says and What Bankruptcy Changes

Kansas caps ordinary wage garnishment at the least of three figures tied to your disposable earnings, the pay period, and the plaintiff's claim in the order; the formula appears below (K.S.A. 60-2310). Those caps do not reach court support orders, bankruptcy court orders under chapter XIII, or state and federal tax debts. Filing a bankruptcy petition itself generally operates as a stay of collection (11 U.S.C. § 362), though income withholding for domestic support is excepted, and repeat filings or court-ordered relief can narrow it.

Key points

Kansas measures ordinary wage garnishment against three ceilings and allows only the smallest of them (K.S.A. 60-2310).
Those ceilings do not apply to court support orders, chapter XIII bankruptcy court orders, or state and federal tax debts (K.S.A. 60-2310).
Kansas's chapter 60 rules bar reaching wages before judgment and allow an order at any time after 14 days following judgment, with no execution required first (K.S.A. 60-730, K.S.A. 60-731); they govern that ordinary court garnishment, not every method of collecting support, taxes or federal debts.
The notice covers two objections, a claim of exemption against a garnishment of property other than earnings or an objection to how exempt and nonexempt earnings were calculated, and a hearing request must be filed no later than 14 days after that notice is served, with the judgment debtor carrying the burden of proof (K.S.A. 60-735).
Filing generally operates as a stay by itself under 11 U.S.C. § 362, but subsection (b) excepts withholding of income for a domestic support obligation, and cases of yours dismissed in the past year or court-ordered relief can narrow it or keep it from taking effect.

If money is already missing from your paycheck, start with two facts. Kansas statutes cap what an ordinary judgment creditor can take from a workweek's earnings, and they give a judgment debtor a short window to object or claim an exemption. Filing bankruptcy works differently again: it generally triggers a federal stay of collection, with its own exceptions. Here is what the Kansas statutes say, and where bankruptcy fits.

How much of your pay can be garnished in Kansas?

Kansas law caps what an ordinary judgment creditor may take from a paycheck; the rest stays with you. The cap runs on disposable earnings, which is what remains after deductions required by law, not after rent or a car payment. For any workweek or multiple of one, ordinary wage garnishment may not exceed the least of three figures: 25% of your aggregate disposable earnings for that period, the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage (or the equivalent multiple for a longer period), or the plaintiff's claim as stated in the order (K.S.A. 60-2310). Those limits do not apply to a court order for the support of any person, including alimony, an order of a bankruptcy court under what the statute still calls chapter XIII of the federal bankruptcy act, or a debt due for any state or federal tax (K.S.A. 60-2310). Support garnishment has its own ceilings, below, and federal law draws the same three exceptions (15 U.S.C. § 1673).

Kansas ceilings when garnishment enforces a support order (K.S.A. 60-2310)
Situation	Maximum share of disposable earnings for the workweek
Worker supports a spouse or dependent child other than the one covered by the order	50%
Worker does not support such a spouse or dependent child	60%
Support owed for a period before the twelve-week period that ends with the beginning of that workweek	55% replaces 50%, and 65% replaces 60%

What do Kansas statutes require of creditors and courts?

Garnishment in Kansas is a court procedure, not something a creditor does on its own. The court issues the order under the conditions set out in it, and the requesting party pays a fee to the clerk of the district court, though a poverty affidavit may stand in its place, and Kansas and its municipalities are exempt from paying it (K.S.A. 60-729). Wages cannot be reached before judgment: no order of garnishment may be obtained before judgment where the property sought is wages earned by the person being garnished (K.S.A. 60-730). After judgment, an order may be obtained at any time after 14 days following judgment, with no execution required first, and the request must designate whether it attaches earnings or other property (K.S.A. 60-731). No one creditor may issue more than one garnishment against the same judgment debtor's earnings in any 30-day period, and no Kansas court may enforce an order violating these limits (K.S.A. 60-2310). These rules describe ordinary court garnishment, not every way support, taxes or federal debts are collected.

Which income is exempt from garnishment under Kansas law?

Kansas exempts particular categories of income and property. Pension money received from the United States within the three months immediately preceding the issuing of process is not applied to the pensioner's debts if the debtor's affidavit or other proof shows the money is necessary for the debtor's or a family's support (K.S.A. 60-2308). Money payable from retirement plans qualified under the Code sections that statute lists is exempt from creditors' claims, except from an alternate payee's claims under a qualified domestic relations order or a child support order. Support money held by the central collection unit, the department for children and families, a district court clerk or a district court trustee in connection with a court order for support is also exempt (K.S.A. 60-2308). K.S.A. 60-2304 and K.S.A. 60-2313 carry their own conditions; this is not a complete survey.

Which statutory protections may matter when contesting a Kansas garnishment?

The party seeking the garnishment must notify you of the order, its effect and your right to a hearing — to claim an exemption against a garnishment of property other than earnings, or to object to the calculation of exempt and nonexempt earnings (K.S.A. 60-735). File that request within 14 days after the notice is served; the hearing follows seven to 14 days after filing. You get the date and time from the clerk or court at filing, note it on the request, and immediately hand-deliver or first-class mail a copy to the requesting party or its attorney if represented. You carry the burden of proving the property exempt. Disputing the garnishee's answer is separate: within 14 days after the garnishee makes the answer and sends it to both parties, either may file a reply, copy it to the other party, any other affected judgment creditors and the garnishee, then notify the court and schedule a hearing to be held within 30 days after filing (K.S.A. 60-738).

How does filing bankruptcy affect a Kansas garnishment?

A voluntary case begins when the petition is filed with the bankruptcy court, and that filing is itself the order for relief (11 U.S.C. § 301). No separate court order is needed: except as subsection (b) provides, the filing operates as a stay, applicable to all entities, of prepetition actions against you, enforcement of a prepetition judgment, and acts to collect a prepetition claim (11 U.S.C. § 362). The stay suspends collection acts; it does not itself erase the judgment. Subsection (b) holds the exceptions, including withholding of income for payment of a domestic support obligation; prior dismissed cases or court-ordered relief can also narrow it, and the bullets below give the duration and exception provisions. A Kansas earnings order runs until the judgment is paid or the garnishment is released (K.S.A. 60-734), but that continuing state order does not authorize collection the federal stay bars.

Subject to subsections (b), (d), (e), (f) and (h), the stay of an act against property of the estate continues until that property is no longer property of the estate (11 U.S.C. § 362).
Subject to those same subsections, the stay of any other act continues until the earliest of the time the case is closed, the time it is dismissed, or, in a case under chapter 7 concerning an individual or a case under chapter 9, 11, 12 or 13, the time a discharge is granted or denied (11 U.S.C. § 362).
Subsection (b) excepts withholding of income that is property of the estate or of the debtor for payment of a domestic support obligation under a judicial or administrative order or a statute.
Prior dismissed cases within the past year can shorten the stay or keep it from arising, and a creditor may ask the court for relief from it.

Which exemption list applies in a Kansas bankruptcy case?

Kansas narrows the federal election: under K.S.A. 60-2312, an individual debtor under the 1978 federal bankruptcy reform act generally may not elect the federal exemptions, cited there by an older numbering of section 522, and the same statute allows that debtor to exempt, in addition to any other exemption allowed under state law, the property listed in subsection (d)(10) — that referenced category only, not the full federal list. State-law exemptions carry their own conditions, including K.S.A. 60-2304 and the benefit sources in K.S.A. 60-2313. Separately from the subsection (d) election, a filer may claim property exempt under other federal law and retirement funds in a fund or account exempt from taxation under the Code sections section 522 lists, subject to that section's further conditions (11 U.S.C. § 522). Which state's law applies turns on domicile, so this is not identical for everyone.

Generally, the law of the place where the debtor's domicile was located for the 730 days immediately preceding the filing (11 U.S.C. § 522).
If the domicile was not in a single state for that 730-day period, the place where it was located for the 180 days immediately preceding the 730-day period, or for a longer portion of that 180-day period than in any other place.
If that domiciliary requirement would leave the debtor ineligible for any exemption, section 522 allows electing the property specified in its subsection (d).

What should you ask a lawyer about a Kansas garnishment?

Two different Kansas codes govern garnishment, and which one applies depends on the kind of case your creditor filed. Chapter 60 holds the general provisions, while article 35 of chapter 61 holds parallel provisions for limited actions, with its own notice-and-hearing section (K.S.A. 61-3508), its own answer requirements (K.S.A. 61-3510) and its own reply procedure (K.S.A. 61-3511). Several chapter 60 provisions are also made applicable to limited actions by K.S.A. 61-3516. Reading the wrong set, or missing which court your case sits in, is an easy mistake to make alone, and the deadlines here are short. A lawyer or a legal aid office can also tell you what the judicial council forms referenced in these statutes require, because the statutes set out the framework rather than the form language (K.S.A. 60-743). Bring the garnishment order, the notice you received, the garnishee's answer and your pay stubs.

Which code and which court govern my case, and what deadline applies to me?
Is the amount withheld for my pay period calculated correctly?
Which of my income sources are exempt, and what does claiming that require?
Would filing change this garnishment, given any exceptions or prior cases?
What happens to the judgment itself if I do nothing?

Frequently asked questions

Can a Kansas employer fire you because of a garnishment?: No employer may discharge an employee by reason of the fact that the employee's earnings have been subjected to wage garnishment (K.S.A. 60-2311). The federal version is narrower: it bars discharge because earnings were garnished for any one indebtedness, and a willful violation carries a fine, imprisonment of not more than one year, or both (15 U.S.C. § 1674). Neither statute says what happens if the wrong amount was withheld.
Does being too sick to work pause a Kansas garnishment?: K.S.A. 60-2310 provides relief in a specific situation: if the debtor is prevented from working at the debtor's regular trade, profession or calling for a period greater than two weeks because of the debtor's illness or that of a family member, and this is shown by the debtor's affidavit, the section is not invoked against that debtor until after two months from recovery. The duration requirement and the affidavit are both part of the rule.
Can a creditor that bought your account garnish your wages?: A seller or assignor of an account to another person or a collecting agency is not entitled to the benefits of wage garnishment, and neither are its assignees (K.S.A. 60-2310). The same statute lists exceptions, including support rights assigned to the secretary for children and families, support rights assigned to another state under title IV-D, assignments of accounts or taxes receivable to the director of accounts and reports, and certain court-debt collections. Whether a particular account falls inside the rule is a legal question.
What if one earlier case of yours was dismissed in the past year?: The stay can end early. Under 11 U.S.C. § 362, if a single or joint case is filed by or against an individual under chapter 7, 11 or 13, and a single or joint case of that debtor was pending within the preceding one-year period but was dismissed, other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b), the stay as to any action taken with respect to a debt, property securing that debt, or a lease terminates with respect to the debtor on the 30th day after the later filing. A party in interest may move to continue it, after notice and a hearing completed before that 30-day period expires, by demonstrating that the later filing is in good faith as to the creditors to be stayed.
What if two or more earlier cases were dismissed in the past year?: Then the stay may never arise. If two or more single or joint cases of the debtor were pending within the previous year but were dismissed, other than a case refiled under a chapter other than chapter 7 after dismissal under section 707(b), the stay does not go into effect when the later single or joint case is filed by or against that individual under the Bankruptcy Code, and the court confirms that on request (11 U.S.C. § 362). Within 30 days after the later filing, a party in interest may request a stay as to any or all creditors. The court may impose one after notice and a hearing, only on a demonstration of good faith as to the creditors to be stayed, effective when the order is entered.

Sources

K.S.A. 60-2310 — Wage garnishment; definitions; restrictions, exceptions
K.S.A. 60-2311 — Discharge of employee due to wage garnishment prohibited
K.S.A. 60-729 — Order of garnishment; fee
K.S.A. 60-730 — When garnishment available before judgment
K.S.A. 60-731 — When garnishment available after judgment
K.S.A. 60-734 — Order of garnishment attaching earnings
K.S.A. 60-735 — Notice to judgment debtor; right to hearing; burden of proof
K.S.A. 60-738 — Reply; notification and hearing; burden of proof
K.S.A. 60-743 — Forms used in garnishment proceedings
K.S.A. 60-2304 — Personal property; articles exempt
K.S.A. 60-2308 — Certain pension and retirement money exempt; support money exempt
K.S.A. 60-2312 — No right to elect exemptions under federal law, exception
K.S.A. 60-2313 — Exemptions from legal process
K.S.A. 61-3508 — Notice to judgment debtor; hearing on claim of exemption
K.S.A. 61-3510 — Attaching earnings
K.S.A. 61-3511 — Reply by judgment creditor or judgment debtor
K.S.A. 61-3516 — Miscellaneous garnishment provisions
11 U.S.C. § 301 — Voluntary cases
11 U.S.C. § 362 — Automatic stay · official source
11 U.S.C. § 522 — Exemptions · official source
15 U.S.C. § 1673 — Restriction on garnishment
15 U.S.C. § 1674 — Restriction on discharge from employment by reason of garnishment

By Antonio G. Jimenez, Esq. · Florida Bar No. 21022

Sources verified October 11, 2026 · How we verify

Every figure on this page is drawn from a primary legal source and checked against our canonical legal database before publication. Bankruptcy.law is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

Turn this into a plan for your exact situation, state, and court.

See My Debt Relief Options→